Buying a home is a goal for many people living in the UK, who first need to find the right mortgage and secure a deposit. But how many people actually own their home and how many are renters?
We look at the latest statistics on home ownership in the UK, including breakdowns by age and occupation and interactive maps of home ownership in different regions.
Official data shows that 63% of people in England and Wales own their home. This makes up 15.5 million households in the UK. Home ownership is slightly higher in Wales than England, where 66% of the population own their property compared to 62%.
48% of home owners have a mortgage or loan for their accommodation or bought it with shared ownership, which is around 7.8 million people. This means that more than half of home owners (52%) in England and Wales own their homes outright.
37% of the population rents in the UK, comprising 9.3 million households. 20% of people rent privately, making up 5 million households across England and Wales. 17% are social renters, making up 4.2 million households – this is where you rent your home from the council or a housing association.
| Status | Percentage | Number of households |
|---|---|---|
| Own outright | 32.80% | 8.1 million |
| Own with a mortgage or other agreement | 29.70% | 7.4 million |
| Private renters | 20.30% | 5 million |
| Social rented sector | 17.10% | 4.2 million |
| Live rent free | 0.10% | 33,000 |
More than three-quarters (77%) of those aged 65 and over are home owners in England, compared to around a third (35%) of those aged 16 to 34. Meanwhile, more than half (56%) of those aged 35 to 49 are home owners, and 7 in 10 50- to 64-year-olds (69%) are home owners.
It is not surprising that the level of home ownership increases with age, as it takes time for people to save up a deposit for a home and be in a steady financial position to take out a mortgage if they need one.
Younger people are, therefore, more likely to rent, with the proportion of renters at around two-thirds (65%) in 16- to 34-year-olds but dropping to less than a quarter (23%) in 65-year-olds and older.
| Age group | Owns outright | Owns with a mortgage, loan or shared ownership | Social rented | Private rented or lives rent free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16-34 years | 4.0% | 31.3% | 18.4% | 46.4% |
| 35-49 years | 7.7% | 47.8% | 17.3% | 27.1% |
| 50-64 years | 32.7% | 35.9% | 17.5% | 14.0% |
| 65+ | 71.0% | 6.4% | 15.8% | 6.8% |
The level of home ownership is highest in the South East of England, with 67.1% of accommodation in this region owned rather than rented. This is followed by the South West (67%), Wales (66.4%), the East Midlands (66.3%) and East of England (66.2%).
There are slightly lower levels of home ownership in the West Midlands (63.6%), Yorkshire and the Humber (63.1%), the North West (63%) and the North East (60.7%).
Meanwhile, home ownership is much lower in London, as less than half of residents (46.8%) are home owners. This is the only region in England and Wales where the majority of residents rent rather than own their accommodation.
You can see a breakdown of home ownership by local authority in the map below.
| Region | Percentage of homeowners | Percentage of renters |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 67.10% | 32.90% |
| South West | 67.00% | 33.10% |
| Wales | 66.40% | 33.60% |
| East Midlands | 66.30% | 33.70% |
| East of England | 66.20% | 33.80% |
| West Midlands | 63.60% | 36.30% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 63.10% | 36.90% |
| North West | 63.00% | 37.00% |
| North East | 60.70% | 39.30% |
| London | 46.80% | 53.20% |
While London is the region with the lowest proportion of home owners, this also varies significantly depending on the borough. Havering in the east of London has 71% of home owners, which is above the national average. This is similar in Bexley (70%) and Bromley (69%).
At the other end of the spectrum, just 1 in 4 households in Tower Hamlets (26%) are owned. This is similar in Hackney (27%), Westminster (28%), Islington (28%) and Camden (30%).
| Borough | Percentage of homeowners | Percentage of renters |
|---|---|---|
| Havering | 70.5% | 29.5% |
| Bexley | 69.9% | 30.1% |
| Bromley | 69.4% | 30.6% |
| Sutton | 65.5% | 34.5% |
| Richmond upon Thames | 63.1% | 36.9% |
| Kingston upon Thames | 61.5% | 38.5% |
| Harrow | 59.9% | 40.1% |
| Redbridge | 58.1% | 41.9% |
| Hillingdon | 57.8% | 42.2% |
| Merton | 56.7% | 43.3% |
| Croydon | 56.1% | 43.9% |
| Barnet | 53.7% | 46.3% |
| Enfield | 53.4% | 46.6% |
| Waltham Forest | 50.6% | 49.4% |
| Ealing | 48.3% | 51.7% |
| Hounslow | 47.8% | 52.2% |
| Wandsworth | 44.3% | 55.7% |
| Barking and Dagenham | 44.1% | 55.9% |
| Lewisham | 43.4% | 56.6% |
| Greenwich | 43.3% | 56.7% |
| Brent | 40.4% | 59.6% |
| Haringey | 38.9% | 61.1% |
| City of London | 36.8% | 63.2% |
| Lambeth | 34.8% | 65.2% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 33.6% | 66.4% |
| Newham | 33.2% | 66.8% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 32.7% | 67.3% |
| Southwark | 31.3% | 68.7% |
| Camden | 30.4% | 69.6% |
| Islington | 28.4% | 71.6% |
| Westminster | 28.1% | 71.9% |
| Hackney | 27.1% | 72.9% |
| Tower Hamlets | 25.7% | 74.3% |
We’ve looked at the percentage of current home owners, average house prices and salary in each region in England and Wales to assess how likely it is that someone living there will be able to purchase a house.
The index factors in the likelihood of owning a house in each region, the amount you would need to pay to own a property and the average income in each area. We have scored each region out of 10 based on these factors.
People in the South East are most likely to be able to afford a home based on these factors, with a home ownership affordability score of 7. They are followed by those in the South West, with a score of 6.7, and those in Wales, with a score of 6.3.
At the other end of the scale, people living in London are least likely to be able to afford home ownership, with a score of 4. People in the North East also have a lower score of 4.3 and the North East and North West follow them, both scoring 5.
While salaries are highest in London, home ownership rates are low in large part due to high house prices. Meanwhile, while house prices are low in the North East, salaries are also low compared to other regions, reducing the likelihood of home ownership.
| Region | Average house price | Average salary | Percentage of existing homeowners | Afforability score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South East | £377,162 | £37,648 | 67.1% | 7.0 |
| South West | £318,966 | £34,528 | 67.0% | 6.7 |
| Wales | £213,816 | £33,072 | 66.4% | 6.3 |
| East Midlands | £248,390 | £33,280 | 66.3% | 5.7 |
| East of England | £342,489 | £36,712 | 66.2% | 5.7 |
| West Midlands | £252,532 | £33,904 | 63.6% | 5.3 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £207,501 | £32,864 | 63.1% | 5.0 |
| North West | £218,353 | £33,748 | 63.0% | 5.0 |
| North East | £157,557 | £31,928 | 60.7% | 4.3 |
| London | £508,037 | £41,392 | 46.8% | 4.0 |
Home ownership is most common for 2-person households (69%), 3-person households (62%) and 4-person households (67%). It is less common at either end of the spectrum – in single households (55%) and and 5-person households. Indeed, only 47% of households with 6 or more people are owned, meaning that the majority (53%) are rented.
As you might expect, the largest proportion of home owners are among highly paid occupations such as managers, directors and senior officials (78%) and more general professional occupations (76%). Around a third of people in these professions own their property outright.
Those in elementary occupations, including cleaning, distributing leaflets and collecting waste, are least likely to be home owners, with 41% owning a property and 59% renting. Those in caring, leisure and service occupations were also more likely rent than own, with 54% of households renting and 46% owning.
The figures for home ownership are taken from the 2021 Census, the most comprehensive and accurate source for understanding levels of home ownership in England and Wales. Please note that percentages may have changed since then, but this is the most recent accurate data available.
Matt Mckenna
UK Head of Communications
T: +44 20 8191 8806
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